G.O.P. Forces New House Vote on Package of Health Bill Changes

Friday

Mar 26, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Republicans early on Thursday identified parliamentary problems that will require the reconciliation measure to be sent back to the House.

WASHINGTON — With the Senate working through an all-night session on a package of changes to the Democrats’ sweeping health care legislation, Republicans early Thursday morning identified parliamentary problems with at least two provisions that will require the measure to be sent back to the House for yet another vote, once the Senate adopts it.

Senate Democrats had been hoping to defeat all of the amendments proposed by Republicans and to prevail on parliamentary challenges so that they could approve the measure and send it to President Obama for his signature. But the bill must comply with complex budget reconciliation rules, and Republicans identified some flaws.

Under the reconciliation rules, provisions in the bill must directly affect government spending or revenues.

The successful parliamentary challenge did not appear to endanger the eventual adoption of the changes to the health care legislation. And Mr. Obama on Tuesday already signed the main health care bill into law.

Senate Democrats said that one of the provisions in question involved changes to the Pell grant program, which is part of an education section in the reconciliation bill. The bill would establish an automatic increase in Pell grant awards, tied to inflation, for students from low-income families. The disputed provision would prevent any reductions in the maximum award.

Before the discovery of the parliamentary issues, Democrats defeated more than two dozen Republican amendments or other proposals aimed at derailing the legislation or making changes that would delay it by forcing an additional vote in the House.

In urging adoption of his amendment, Mr. Vitter declared, “This reconciliation bill is already going back to the House.” At the same time, Senate leaders from both parties were conferring animatedly on the floor.

At about 2:45 a.m., with the flaws in the bill identified, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, brought the late-night session to a close. The Senate was to resume work on the bill at 9:45 a.m. Thursday.

The House adopted the Senate-passed health care bill on Sunday by a vote of 219 to 212, and Mr. Obama signed it into law on Tuesday, meaning the main components of the Democrats’ overhaul were guaranteed to go forward. Also on Sunday night, the House approved a package of changes as part of a budget reconciliation bill, by a vote of 220 to 211. That bill was sent to the Senate for its consideration.

Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Budget Committee, said that one problem with the bill was the formula for determining the maximum Pell grant awards. The second issue was a technical matter that Mr. Conrad described as mostly insignificant.

Mr. Conrad said a third issue was under review by the Senate parliamentarian.

The risk for Democrats in a parliamentary challenge is that Republicans could knock out key provisions of the legislation, or win a decision that upends the mechanisms Democrats rely on to pay for the measure.

“We see no impact on the score and very insignificant impact on any policy,” Mr. Conrad said, referring to a cost estimate of the legislation. “This is not going to be a problem.”

Mr. Conrad predicted that the Senate would complete work on the bill by 2 p.m. Thursday.

In addition to the changes to the health care legislation, the budget reconciliation measure includes a broad restructuring of federal student loan programs that will help pay for billions of dollars in education initiatives, including the increase in Pell grants.

A spokeswoman for Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the provisions struck out by the parliamentarian were minor.

“The parliamentarian struck two minor provisions tonight from the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act,” the spokeswoman, Kate Cyrul, said. “These changes do not impact the reforms to the student loan programs and the important investments in education. We are confident the House will quickly pass the bill with these minor changes.”

The Senate adjourned at 2:55 a.m.

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